Blog Author Mellissah Smith - Page 49

I am not stupid. At least I don't think I am.

I do try to listen to what others have to say and when someone gives me advice, I usually take it.

I have these two men in my life that are mentors. They are the two men throughout the world that I hold in the highest business esteem. Yes, the world. Not just Australia, but the world.

Their names are Jack Cowin and Peter Ivany. If you don't know who they are, Google them. It will be well worth your while. They are not your average 'smart cookies', they are briliant businessmen - beyond the brilliance of anyone else I have ever met (and I have met people worth hundreds of billions of dollars and spent quality time with them). I think these two guys are better. 

Over the years, there have been a few PR experts that have stood out to myself; namely Shona Boyd. She is an industry veteran in Sydney and has had every big name client under the sun. She is more professional than the rest and without doubt is one of the few people in the industry that guarantee results. She has a no bullshit radar, and refuses to work with people who can't sit straight. I love her. She was one of the first real PR people that I have ever met.

Then there were others that came along, without qualifications but equally capable in getting column centremeters like Roxy Jacenko. They have built their businesses on largely fluffy PR but have done so with gust and have certainly gained my admiration.

I played the PR game earlier on. I realised that it was a quick way to make some serious money. I worked on the more serious part of the equation; public listings, technology PR, business PR and alike. It was fun. All it required was an ability to write a press release and build a relationship with a journalist. By knowing what the journalist was interested in, I was able to tell the client upfront whether or not they had a chance of getting published or not.

For that privilege, I wrote the press release in 20 minutes and charged $2,500 per piece. Easy money and paid the rent. Didn't get much better than that.

Gosh times have changed. Why did I ever stop doing this. Now, we charge a few hundred dollars for writing a press release and send it out to a database. Not the same results might I add, but it seems that that is what most people are doing and getting away with.

Great PR people have the following qualitites:

Most entrepreneurs don't really listen that much. They trust their gut instinct and often find that their newest great idea, should take precedence over everything else their business has going on. 

While that is good and well, this constant need for gratification and results often leads to entrepreneurs missing the mark - and then wondering why they are forging ahead as first thought.

Having siblings often is an essential ingredient in helping a child navigate the world, teaching them how to share, be empathetic, and play well with others. With only children, there is less need to navigate the world as usually parents over compensate for the fact that they are the "one and only" child they have, and help make their lives as smooth and easy as possible. All of their attention goes on the child, and when the child asks for something, its hard to say no - afterall, you only have one child.

Only children are more often than not spoilt by their parents. 

I had a humbling experience today and I want to share with you just what that meant to me as an entrepreneur and founder.

Marketing Eye has been around for more than 10 years. We were not an overnight success, but have steadily grown a very successful business in Australia and in the US (Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Denver).

Building a business has never been easy and every single time I think that its got its groove going, I am awakened with a rude shock. It seems that the business is always growing, changing, adapting and needing a new influx of ideas or improvements in the way we do business.

I've been away now for one week and am completely relaxed and recharged with a half decent tan courtesy of being in the mediterranean. Travelling has always been something that I have loved to do. I travel constantly for work and also for pleasure, usually mixing the two together. To travel is a luxury and a privilege. For the first time in a long while, I am seeing just how amazing my life has been because I have been able to travel and experience so many different cultures and environments, that broaden my perspective on life and how I view the world. 

It's been a mammoth month in so many ways. End of financial year in Australia is always draining. As a marketer, there is no fun in fulfilling your obligations as a business owner for the taxation department.

Unlike many other professional services firms, I cared less about how many billable hours my employees were doing until the fatal day that it was brought to my attention by my internal accountant that some people were "performing" not as good as others and the gap was highly significant.

It is harder to work in a professional services firm than in corporate. Knowing that you have to do a certain number of billable hours is a lot of pressure until you actually stop thinking about it.

Marketing campaigns fail for a variety of different reasons, but don't let not following up be one of them. 

Everyone has been there. You know, when you look in the mirror and wonder to yourself 'why you haven't achieved what you set out to achieve' and then give yourself an 'upper cut'. For those who don't know what that means, it's very Australian!

You control our own destiny and deep down, every person, even the one's that blame others for their 'lot in life', know that if you are not achieving something, then it's no-one's fault but your own.

They are harsh words. You may say that you wanted to be rich, but were never given the opportunity but we have heard lots of stories of people growing up dirt poor who become squillionaires or elite sportspeople - so that alone is no excuse.

We all want something. Many of use strive to achieve it and put the right actions in place to make it happen. When failure crosses our path, we get back up and dust ourselves off, then try again, perhaps in a different way. We don't let failure stop us.